1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to a multi-piece solid golf ball of a four layer structure comprising a core consisting of an inner sphere and an enclosure layer surrounding the inner sphere and a cover surrounding the core and consisting of outer and inner layers. More particularly it relates to such a multi-piece solid golf ball which gives a soft hitting feel with click while maintaining high restitution upon full shots with a driver and is improved in spin performance upon approach shots with a short iron such as sand wedge and in hitting feel upon approach shots and putting.
2. Prior Art
Two-piece solid golf balls comprising a rubber based core and a cover of ionomer resin or the like around the core offer superior flight performance and durability although they have the drawback of a hard hitting feel. To eliminate this drawback, various soft type two-piece solid golf balls were developed. To obtain such soft type two-piece solid golf balls, soft cores are generally used. Softening the core invites not only a lowering of restitution which leads to poor flight performance, but also a substantial loss of durability. Then the flight performance and durability characteristic of two-piece solid golf balls are lost to such an extent that some soft type two-piece solid golf balls are practically unacceptable.
To overcome these problems, a number of three-piece solid golf balls were proposed. Exemplary golf balls attempted heretofore include (1) a three-piece solid golf ball comprising a core consisting of inner and outer layers and a cover surrounding the core wherein the core consists of a soft, relatively small inner layer (outer diameter: 24 to 29 mm, hardness: Shore D 15 to 30) and a hard outer layer (outer diameter: 36 to 41 mm, hardness: Shore D 55 to 65) surrounding the inner layer whereby a long carry is ensured as well as a hitting feel and controllability close to wound golf balls (Japanese Patent Publication (JP-B) No. 55077/1992 and Japanese Patent Application Kokai (JP-A) No. 80377/1989); (2) a three-piece solid golf ball comprising a center core, an intermediate layer, and a cover wherein a soft intermediate layer is formed around a soft center core and the thickness and specific gravity of the center core, intermediate layer, and cover are selected in specific ranges whereby the feeling is improved at no sacrifice of flight performance and durability (JP-A 24084/1995); and (3) a three-piece solid golf ball comprising a center core, an intermediate layer, and a cover wherein a relatively hard intermediate layer is formed between a relatively soft core and a relatively soft cover whereby the feeling and controllability are improved at no sacrifice of flight performance and durability (JP-A 24085/1995).
However, these golf balls suffer from various problems. The ball (1), in which the cover is not particularly limited, provides insufficient restitution and fails to travel a long distance when a soft member is used as the cover. When a hard member is used as the cover, the cover and the underlying core outer layer are hard so that upon approach shots belonging to the small deformation region, the hitting feel becomes hard. The ball (2) gives a good feel, but not click upon driver shots because the core and intermediate layer are soft. Upon approach shots, the ball (2) gives a hard feel and gains a spin rate insufficient to control the ball because the cover is hard. The ball (3) provides insufficient restitution and fails to travel a long distance upon driver shots because the core that mostly affects restitution is soft. The hitting feel with a driver is soft, but it is "coreless" softness and lacks the click low-handicap golfers demand. There is a desire for further improvement and development.